Following Conwell-Egan’s 34-17 PIAA 3A quarterfinal-round victory over Palisades on Saturday, the Pirates community was in an uproar after learning a Conwell-Egan player only recently joined the team.

Tom Burns, a 6-foot-4, 250-pound two-way lineman, played through the end of October at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, N.J.

He played for Conwell-Egan on Saturday and some Palisades supporters thought his appearance was a violation of PIAA rules.

But it was not, according to District 11 chairman and Whitehall athletic director Bob Hartman, after Palisades officials asked him to look into the matter.

“It is not against the rules, at least not yet,” Hartman said. “There could be a rule change that could get passed as early as next week and it is not in reaction to this. It has been in the pipeline. It’s more in reaction to Micah Parsons last year.”

Parsons, a top college football recruit, transferred from Central Dauphin to Harrisburg last year in the middle of his junior season.

Hartman is a member of a new competition committee formed last March during the basketball state championships to look into transfers and other fairness issues.

The new committee has met three times and will gather again at the state football championships next week in Hershey. The transfer issue is among the hot-button topics to be addressed.

The issue of transfers for athletic reasons and complaints of uneven playing fields have cast a dark cloud over high school sports for several decades.

Things can get ugly between public school supporters and parents from private schools, especially in the state playoffs when the season ends for one school and emotions are raw.

Hopefully, a solution can be found before a tragedy unfolds. That’s why it’s imperative for the competition committee to get something done.

In the Conwell-Egan case, however, no rule was broken.

“The player’s transfer was verified and approved,” Hartman said. “All the facts that everybody has are true. According to PIAA rules, he was allowed to play. There’s a principal-to-principal signoff and they deemed there was no athletic intent. They verified it. It’s up to them to investigate. It’s up to them to pump the brakes. We have no standing in District 11 to overturn it.”

Hartman hopes that rule, among others, will be addressed by the new PIAA committee.

“It’s a front burner item for us and I intend to keep it there,” Hartman said. “Hopefully, we can get somewhere with it. We support some type of rule in District 11. It has to get support across the state for it to pass.”

The new committee talked about making it more incumbent on the student-athlete transferring to prove the transfer is not for athletic reasons.

On another hot-button issue, Hartman, echoing the comments of PIAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Lombardi, said there are no plans to hold separate tournaments for public schools and private and charter schools, as New Jersey does.

“It’s not going to happen,” Hartman said. “What many people want and what is feasible and realistic are two different things.”

The real issue goes beyond the playing field, he said.

“The concept of school choice is way higher than the PIAA and high school athletics,” Hartman said. “School choice is a national political agenda. There’s a faction of the country that wants school choice and there’s another faction that doesn’t think it’s right. We can say whatever we want in the PIAA, it’s still got to hold up in court. It still has to hold up in the state legislature.”

For their part, Palisades officials would prefer to let the issue fade away and the focus to be on an unprecedented Pirates football season that featured a 13-1 record and Colonial League and District 11 titles.

In a letter signed by Palisades Superintendent Bridget O’Connell, Principal Rich Heffernan and Athletic Director Rebecca George, they acknowledged the questions regarding eligibility for student-athletes and the public vs. nonpublic controversy, but noted that both principals signed off in the Conwell-Egan case and Burns was eligible.

The letter concluded with a request of the PIAA and a salute to the team.

“This example, as well as other occurrences investigated by the PIAA, may lead to further refinements in the rules and policies that participating schools will follow in the future. In our opinion, any changes to tighten the eligibility requirements for mid or end of season transfers would be welcome. For now, let’s celebrate our Pirates’ and their historic season. These young men should be commended, not only for their athleticism, but for their sportsmanship and conduct both on and off of the field. It has been a remarkable ride! Go Pirates!”

CAPTION

Penn State coach James Franklin said that kicker Carson Landis, an Emmaus High graduate, has a ‘tremendous. (Mark Wogenrich / The Morning Call)

Penn State coach James Franklin said that kicker Carson Landis, an Emmaus High graduate, has a ‘tremendous. (Mark Wogenrich / The Morning Call)

CAPTION

Penn State coach James Franklin said that kicker Carson Landis, an Emmaus High graduate, has a ‘tremendous. (Mark Wogenrich / The Morning Call)

Penn State coach James Franklin said that kicker Carson Landis, an Emmaus High graduate, has a ‘tremendous. (Mark Wogenrich / The Morning Call)